The Dow Jones Industrial Average came off session highs in afternoon trading Tuesday as two Federal Reserve officials gave opposing views on the direction of interest rates. Indexes are little changed as investors await a key inflation report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2%, while the S&P 500 gave back early gains and was unchanged in the stock market today. The Nasdaq composite also gave back some early gains and was flat.
Volume on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq was higher compared with the same time on Monday.
Small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 was flat at midday but deepened losses and were down 0.5% in the afternoon, while the Innovator IBD 50 ETF also fell 0.3%.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 2 basis points to 4.36%. Gold gained. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF rose for the third straight trading day. Shares are in a buy zone from a 184.23 entry.
Fed Officials Clash
On Tuesday, two Fed officials clashed on the direction of interest rates. Fed Gov. Christopher Waller indicated that he was "increasingly confident" that the current setting will get inflation down to 2%. However, Fed Gov. Michelle Bowman indicated she would support another rate hike if progress on inflation stalls.
Investors also are waiting for the personal income and outlays report for October, due Thursday. The index is expected to fall to 0.1% from 0.4% in September. On an annual basis, the key inflation gauge is seen falling to 3.1% from September's 3.4%.
The Beige Book on Wednesday will provide anecdotal evidence from 12 Federal Reserve districts ahead of the Fed policy meeting on Dec. 13.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index met consensus views of a 0.7% increase for September, according to Econoday. The Federal Housing Finance Agency house price index came in above estimates of 0.4%, with a 0.6% increase for September. Consumer confidence also beat views of 101.5 and rose to 102 for November, according to the Conference Board survey of consumers.
Dow Jones Stocks
In the Dow, Salesforce is falling slightly ahead of its earnings report on Wednesday. Shares are in a consolidation with a buy point of 238.22.
Boeing rose nearly 2% after analysts at RBC Capital gave the stock an outperform rating with a price target of 275, up from 200. The stock is also benefiting from other analyst upgrades as demand firms up in both commercial and defense segments. Shares are in a cup base with a buy point of 243.10.
Among cybersecurity stocks, Zscaler slashed early losses after earnings that were announced late Monday. After strong fiscal first quarter in which sales and profit beat views, a muted outlook and billings drove the stock down nearly 3% at the open. But Zscaler reclaimed some losses and was down 0.7%.
Chinese e-commerce provider PDD gapped up over 18% after earnings beat analysts expectations. Shares are in a profit zone from an alternate entry of 112.77.
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Other Stocks Moving Today
Outside the Dow Jones, Google parent Alphabet is near a buy point of 141.22 in a cup base. Cloudflare is also approaching an entry at 76.07 within a cup pattern.
CrowdStrike, Intuit, Workday and Splunk will report after the market close. Workday is in a cup base with a buy point of 252.72. Intuit is in a buy zone from a double-bottom entry of 550.12.
Also in software, Snowflake will report on Wednesday. Shares are in a cup base with a buy point of 193.94.
Micron Technology fell 3% after the company updated its fiscal first quarter sales outlook to $4.7 billion from $4.4 billion. But gross margins are seen just breaking even, lower than earlier estimates.
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